Scan barcode
A review by imbookingit
Firefly Rain by Richard Dansky
4.0
Firefly Rain was the creepiest book I've read in a while, and I mean that in a good way!
A quote on the back cover refers to this book as horror, but this isn't what I think of when I see that label.
The novel has a very gothic feel, with mysterious happenings, a spooky house, a young protagonist at a crossroads in his life (although I tend to think of gothic novels as featuring women), and even a little romance (key to the plot, although not to the storytelling).
The book examines what it mean to be from someplace and what it means to belong somewhere. The small town seems like a character at times, and you wonder if the residents are driving the towns atmosphere, or if the town is influencing the actions of the people.
I found Jacob to be flawed but sympathetic, and even more importantly, I found him interesting. He's worked hard on his business all of his adult life, and has retreated to his childhood home to decide what comes next.
The secondary characters were flat, but deliberately so, I think. They were catalysts in a story that really was about Jacob, his parent's house and the town he was raised it.
I'm looking forward to reading more by Richard Dansky.
A quote on the back cover refers to this book as horror, but this isn't what I think of when I see that label.
The novel has a very gothic feel, with mysterious happenings, a spooky house, a young protagonist at a crossroads in his life (although I tend to think of gothic novels as featuring women), and even a little romance (key to the plot, although not to the storytelling).
The book examines what it mean to be from someplace and what it means to belong somewhere. The small town seems like a character at times, and you wonder if the residents are driving the towns atmosphere, or if the town is influencing the actions of the people.
I found Jacob to be flawed but sympathetic, and even more importantly, I found him interesting. He's worked hard on his business all of his adult life, and has retreated to his childhood home to decide what comes next.
The secondary characters were flat, but deliberately so, I think. They were catalysts in a story that really was about Jacob, his parent's house and the town he was raised it.
I'm looking forward to reading more by Richard Dansky.